CIDotW - Zopo ZP900 Leader / H9500

Welcome to our new feature - 'Chinese Import Device of the Week'. Here at MoDaCo we've developed something of an obsession with scouring the likes of AliExpress for interesting (and super cheap) devices, so we want to help you find the interesting ones!

We'll be covering generic brand devices as well as the better known brands like Xiaomi, ZTE and Huawei, with highlights and lowlights together with reviews of some of them both from the team and from MoDaCo members. This week... the Zopo ZP900.

What is it and what makes it worth of CIDotW?

The Zopo ZP900 Leader, also known as the H9500, is a Dual Core, Dual SIM Android device with a whopping 5.3" qHD screen. It comes in Blue or White, looks a lot like a Samsung device and runs Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Galaxy Note is pretty interesting, but for a lot of people it's too pricey. This phone gives you a similar size screen at a much, MUCH cheaper price. In common with a lot of the Chinese devices it's dual SIM (both active simultaneously), which is pretty neat. I'm kinda sold on the concept since I reviewed the Acer Gallant Duo, which is based on the single core version of the chipset in this device.

The ZP900 / H9500 is the 'higher end' device of a two model range, the ZP900S / H9300i has an inferior camera and half the RAM. Order with care!

What's the specs?

The device features (according to the listing)...

Dual SIM

5.3" qHD screen

Android 4.0.4

GPS

MTK6577 Dual Core CPU

1GB RAM

4GB ROM

microSD expansion

2 Megapixel front camera

8 Megapixel rear camera

2800mAh battery

149.6 x 78 x 10.2 mm

140g

Free case includedHow much, from where?

The ZP900 best price at the time of writing is $235 from this seller with free (slow) delivery, which works out at £146.15. You may be charged import duty on the phone and express delivery is also available at additional cost.

Pros and cons?

Bear in mind that a lot of the pros and cons apply to pretty much any device you buy from the 'no-name' companies!

Pros

Cheap!

Hackable

Good dual SIM functionality

Decent performance

Big screen

Cons

[*]Warranty claims may well be troublesome if required

[*]Build quality is an unknown

[*]Be sure to buy the 1GB RAM version not the reduced spec 512MB RAM version

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I've been a long user of China brewed phones and devices. I think I've owned one of each generation of Mediatek's Android chips, right back to the severely underpowered 416mHz MT6516. The devices have really been shining since the release of the 6575 @ 1GHZ last year, and the new dual core chips are really rocketing.

For the past 2 months I've been using the ZP900S/9300+ as my primary phone. It might only have the 512MB of RAM, but it's still a great performer.

The Battery in the device is very large. Like most China phones, 2 batteries are included in the box. I'm a reasonably heavy user, I always leave WiFi on and have the screen brightness locked at the second highest level and it gets to about 15% when I go to bed.

The screen is the star, it's not an old TFT where you can see the lines between the pixels. Colors are accurate, and outside of looking at it from a 90 degree angle it holds up well.

It is the cheaper model with the lesser camera, but it still performs OK. It does capture at 8MP, but It's probably doing a bit of software interpolation to get to that. I've noticed the camera can have a bias towards red, but you have to look for it. A couple of samples:

Now, like most phones from China, out of the box they're not very appealing. They always come with a big stack of Chinese bloatware. This phone in particular had an annoying partition arrangement. It had a 4GB rom, but Internal Storage was partitioned to 500MB, 2GB was set to /sdcard and the actual sd card slot would mount as /sdcard2. Fortunately, I was able to use Google Translate, browse a few Chinese and Russian forums to find a clean firmware allocating a full 2.5GB to the internal storage and having the actual SD card slot be /sdcard. It also included ClockwordMod recovery, and I was able flash a zip to load SuperSU and root the phone.

The 512MB of RAM might be an issue for some, but it works well for me. I regularly use Opera Mobile, Twitter, Gmail, Viber and Maps and they all never get killed in the background. When I run a game or a more resource intensive app it does kull out a few of the programs, but for day to day use it should be fine. I used to run a ZTE Blade for a while, and as you'd expect this runs rings around that. I've been playing the HD version of Bad Piggies since it came out and that runs flawlessly.

The Android implementation across Mediatek phones is generally identical. The Dual Sim functionality in this device is exactly like the Acer Gallant Duo as detailed in Paui's review. It's running 4.0.4 with all the standard trimmings. For my device Google Play was working out of the box and in every firmware I've been able to find. I get no incompatibility warnings with any apps I've wanted to install.

If anyone has questions about this or other Mediatek based China devices, I'm happy to answer. I'm a long time user and have been buying them for friends and family for a while. (If you're after a 4" phone I'd recommend the Jiayu G2+ - one of the best screens I've seen on a phone and a stunning camera for ~$160 US). But until then enjoy this full sized image of the stats as reported in Antutu!

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I've been a long user of China brewed phones and devices. I think I've owned one of each generation of Mediatek's Android chips, right back to the severely underpowered 416mHz MT6516. The devices have really been shining since the release of the 6575 @ 1GHZ last year, and the new dual core chips are really rocketing.

<snip>

were did you buy yours from, if i was to order one, were can you recommend, im in the uk

1

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Same question here ... where can I safely order an JiaYu G2+ (MT6577 Dual Core, 1GB RAM) shipped to Europe / Austria without customs problems? I have no experience whatsoever at importing directly from China.

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Who said anything about custom avoidance and breaking the law? A little paranoid, are we? I said custom problems, like blatantly wrong value declaration (10$ or gift) with missing invoice where the shipment stays at customs for days while awaiting a proper invoice ...

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The big news from domestic chinese phone brands over the next few monthes will be the introduction of the new MTK chipsets. The upcoming quad core MT6588 will be Cortex A7 based, 28nm process and finally see them dropping the PowerVR SGX530 and upgrading to the 544. I think MTK will also introduce some other chipsets too.

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I like the idea of these devices but have trust issues where quality is concerned. I only bought something once (wifi dongle) from China and it packed up in a few weeks. Not a problem when it's a few quid, but £100+ I'd be gutted. SO, really looking forward to your reviews and recommendations on devices, sites and sellers!

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Old thread I know, but I just picked up a H9500 (I think it's the same H9500) for $195.

I'm wondering what other software loads I might be able to find for it.

It seems like a nice phone, BUT so far I've found that A) It won't talk to my AT&T 3G microcell, B) The camera saves photos to the phone memory, not the SD card, and C) It won't mount the SD card as a USB drive.

I am writing this review after using the Uhans Max 2 variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for three weeks. The phone was connected to the 4G network.

The Uhans Max 2 best in the biggest screen smartphone segment at it’s Price range.
Unboxing:
The Packaging comes with some accessories: Micro-USB Cable, Power Adaptor, User Guide, Screen Protector, SIM Card Eject Tool, and cell phone.
Silicone case missing.
The power, volume buttons, and SIM card slot are located to the right. It offers a 3.5mm jack, which is located at the top of the phone. MicroUSB port and Speakers are located at the bottom. Speakers combination gets sufficiently loud, and it doesn't get distorted at high volumes. There's also a fingerprint sensor located at the Front, and its location just blows the screen, makes it easy to access. Four cameras, two cameras on back with Dual LED flash and two cameras on Front with single flash light. The Microphone is located on the lower edge. There are no physical buttons besides fingerprint sensor under the screen. The phone provides such button on screen.
Let’s start the review in detail.

Big Screen For Unlimited Vision:
The Uhans Max 2 comes with 6.44-inch Full HD display ( which gives it a pixel density 342ppi) with 1920 x 1080P resolution is 10-fingers touch capability and the addition of 2.5D curved glass makes a substantial difference when using the screen. When lighting up the display on the Max 2, the content flows on the screen, delivering an unprecedentedly realistic and immersive viewing experience.
Capture Every Moment of Your Life:
Uhans Added 13MP sensor with an F/2.0 aperture. The second rear 2.0MP camera is used to achieve DSLR-level depth-of-field effects. The Main rear camera focuses quickly, which is also great for taking some fine shots of moving subjects. If you’re shooting in HDR, you’ll manage to squeeze in more details, although it takes slightly longer to shoot the photos. I am really impressed by the performance. As for the front camera, it has 13+2MP Dual front cameras with a flash light to reach a high-quality video chat and creates perfect selfies with enhanced brightness and clarity. In all your selfies, you look amazing and gorgeous. in term of video recording, the back camera can record video at 1080p resolution and the quality is great.
Also, Camera app provides some useful modes, such as panorama, beauty, SLR. The camera setting menu has more options for example, face detection, camera mute, touch shutter, anti-shake and others.
Day Light Image
Night image
Bokeh Effects
Selfie Camera
Unlock at Once
Now you can unlock your phone with a gentle touch. The fingerprint Sensor on the Front can unlock your phone in less than 0.3s. It’s relatively quick in responding compared to many other devices.
Taking Performance to New Heights
Powered by the advanced MTK6750T octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz with 4GB of RAM, The Uhans Max 2 is smart, quick and responsive, which delivers premium performance at lightning speeds while consuming 20% less power compared to its predecessor. It handles swift switchover between multiple tasks and heavy games effortlessly without hiccups. There are no overheating issues or problems even under extreme usage. The graphics are powered by Mali-T860 MP2 GPU. Games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Real Racing 3, Modern Combat 5: Blackout, etc. You won’t face any noticeable lags or frame drops.
Save All Wonderful Stuff:
Every day we get new things that matter and worth keeping. The Uhans Max 2 packs a whopping 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 128GB via SD card, which offers plenty of space for your favorite apps, pictures, games and apps. More storage room for more joys.
Power You up Through Your Day
The Uhans Max 2 is equipped with a 4300mAh non removable battery which can last a whole day on a single charge. Whether you are watching movies, playing games or chatting with friends online, the Uhans Max 2 can always power your fun. There’s no need to worry about running out of power any more.
Your Personal Guider
The GPS+GLONASS navigation systems with rapid, accurate positioning will always help find you. There’s no need to worry about getting lost again. You could even direct your own way to the destination in a totally strange place.
The Choice Is Yours
With dual SIM supported, the Max 2 doubles your choices, giving you the option to use one for work and the other for life, or one for calling and texting and the other for data. You can also choose to use a local SIM card when you’re abroad. The choice is totally up to you.
Smooth, Efficient, User-friendly
The fresh new Android 7.0 Nougat brings a refreshing new interactive experience with more user-friendly interface, quick app launch, simplified operation steps, enhanced smoothness and battery management. Besides, some in-depth customizations are added for more delightful use. More surprises are waiting for your enjoyment.
Pros:
Calls : No lags and smooth voice.
Internet browsing : No lags and very fast internet site download (if you have 4G connection or 3G has good too).
Build quality : Very good quality frame, made from metal.
Four Cameras: Fast shutter speed and very detailed.
UI: Very fast and responsible.
Display: perfect sized and good resolution.
Battery: big capacity
Cons: No Notification LED
No Fast charger
NO NFC support Pretty Heavy ( because of Four cameras, Big battery capacity, Metal body )
No USB Type C
Conclusions The Uhans Max 2 is definitely the new benchmark for other budget smartphones launching in 2017 to match up to. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend – especially if one needs a big screen and long battery life. Packed in a neat chassis, the smartphone performs great and is a compelling smartphone that gets a direct entry into any best-of lists.

Another rugged phone! To be water-proof looks like a trend in the phone
industry. Big brand like iPhone 7, Samsung S7, but they are either of
poor waterproof performance or expensive. In terms of water-proof and
drop-proof, I love NOMU as much as ever, a truly professional rugged
phone maker. (I recently bought its T18, and I’m more than satisfied.)
For King Kong, I don’t know, we’ll see.